This is the second to last flower block in this quilt. In the previous quilt, Grandmother’s Flower Garden, the crocus was the first flower block. This is a much different version of the same flower. Which one do you like better?
Block #19 ~ Crocus
April 9, 1932
When Nancy told the members last week that the coming flower would be an early spring one, the members were divided between the hepatica and the trailing arbutus. But Nancy said these flowers were both too small and fragile to applique easily. “I have to pick a larger flower, one that will adapt itself to needlework. Can’t you think of a blossom which comes up, almost through the snow on your lawns and shows its heard in yellow, in white or in purple?”
“Oh, you mean a crocus.” they chorused. “Crocus it is.” said Nancy.
It’s a good looking flower, too, when made in pale lavender and deeper figured purple or in yellows or even in yellow for one flower and lavender for the other.
The leaves are long. For the first time there is no stem shown. Instead we have three leaves, developed in fast color soft green material. Choose something which will wash and take stitchery easily.
These leaves and flowers are appliqued onto the large white triangle which is seamed to the equally large triangle of the pieced urn.
The club members could make these urns in short time, nowadays, since they had made nineteen of them. You see, each flower with its pair of admiring birds comes out of an urn. The combination of the triangle block of urn jointed to triangle block of white give a large diamond block measuring 12 inches on each one of its four sides, when seamed and joined in the quilt.
The triangles are cut 12-1/2 by 12-1/2 by 17-1/2. Then when seams are taken off the finished size is 12 by 12.
In making these flowers the club members followed the usual procedure.
First, they cut the picture with its accompanying directions from the paper.
Second, they traced the design lightly onto the white triangle as indicated by the small inset drawing.
Third, they made another tracing on lightweight cardboard.
Fourth, they put the original design for safe keeping in the Nancy Page scrap book.
Fifth, they cut out the various parts of the design which had been traced on the cardboard.
Sixth, they laid these on the material from which the flowers and leaves would be made.
Seventh, they cut out the material allowing one-quarter inch on all sides for turning under raw edges.
Eight, they turned under raw edges, basted and pressed the pieces.
Ninth, they pinned the pieces in place on the white triangle.
Tenth, they appliqued them with a slanting, invisible hemming stitch.
The birds were appliqued, and the next to the last block in the quilt was finished.
Supposing the members had been appliqueing the pieces with buttonhole stitch, then they would not have allowed the quarter inch since the buttonholing covers the raw edges.
Some members were making the quilt in outline stitch.
Others were filling in the outlined spaces with colored crayons. Then this colored space was pressed with a hot iron which set the color.
The members who were doing this found that the effect was improved if the outline was worked with fast colored embroidery cotton.
“garden bouquet quilt, block 19, crocus” Newspapers.com, Edmonton Journal, April 9, 1932, https://www.newspapers.com/article/edmonton-journal-garden-bouquet-quilt-b/164010499/
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